Lawmakers from both parties are racing against the clock to secure a bipartisan bill to sanction International Criminal Court (ICC) officials after they filed requests for arrest warrants for top Israeli leaders, hoping that a forceful bipartisan response from Washington will dissuade the court’s judges from ratifying the charges in the coming weeks.
Congress left Washington on Thursday for a long holiday recess without reaching a bipartisan agreement on exactly how to respond to ICC allegations that Israeli leaders committed war crimes in their fight with Hamas in Gaza. But the House’s top negotiators are promising to solidify a deal and move it forward immediately when lawmakers return to the Capitol in the first week of June — a timeline they predict will put the bill’s approval before the ICC judges’ decision.
“This is really for deterrence purposes,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who is leading the negotiations, said Thursday. “An impediment to approving the arrest warrant request.”
McCaul wants the committee to pass the legislation by June 3, the first day lawmakers are expected to return to Washington, and he noted that hearings are typically scheduled a week in advance, meaning negotiators have just a few days to reveal the legislation.
The Foreign Affairs president has emphasized several times that he wants the ICC bill to be bipartisan and bicameral, a departure from other Israel-related measures led by Republicans in recent weeks that were written in a way that divided the Democratic caucus, where Advocates – Israel’s lawmakers have been at odds with pro-Palestinian progressives who are up in arms over the rising humanitarian deaths in Gaza.
“We want something that can become law. We’re not really interested in a messaging bill,” McCaul said. “It has to be bipartisan.”
“Otherwise,” he added later, “there will be no deterrence against the ICC.”
Rep. Gregory Meeks (NY), senior Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, is leading negotiations for House Democrats. Like McCaul, he stresses the importance of securing bipartisan support to send the message that Congress overwhelmingly opposes the ICC’s determination that Israeli leaders committed crimes against humanity in their battle against Hamas militants.
“It is important for Israel at this time that bills are bipartisan from our committee,” Meeks said, “rather than trying to introduce partisan bills with the intention of trying to divide the United States Congress. I think that’s the wrong message for Israel and it’s the wrong message for the rest of the world.”
Outside the House, support for ICC sanctions is growing. McCaul said he is in direct negotiations with several senators, including Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).
“I’m trying to talk to Meeks and Cardin about… what are their problems? So we can resolve this,” McCaul said.
He has also been in contact with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is open to the concept of sanctions against ICC officials.
“This decision, as you said, on many levels is completely wrong. And we will be happy to work with Congress, with this committee, on an appropriate response,” Blinken said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on Monday that he was submitting arrest warrant requests for two senior Israeli officials – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant – and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, claiming they “bear criminal responsibility” for a list of war crimes. since October 7, when Hamas launched a terrorist attack against Israel, triggering fierce fighting in Gaza.
Republicans were quick to reject the arrest warrant requests, with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) calling the move “baseless” and “illegitimate” and promising international court sanctions.
Democrats are more divided. Several liberals, including prominent figures like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), have praised the ICC for its effort to enforce international humanitarian laws, regardless of who violates them.
“Whether it’s Putin’s war crimes in Ukraine, Hamas’ barbaric terrorism in Israel, or Netanyahu’s use of starvation as a weapon of war – no one is above the law,” Sanders said.
However, the vast majority of Democrats appear to be lining up in opposition to the ICC charges, which President Biden has condemned as “outrageous.” These voices criticize the international court for equating the actions of Israel, a democratic state, during the war, with Hamas, a terrorist group. And other Democratic leaders, while not fans of the conservative Netanyahu, have echoed those criticisms.
Although neither the United States nor Israel have signed on the ICC letter, Israel’s allies on Capitol Hill maintain that the sanctions are nevertheless a crucial counterweight to the court’s allegations — if only to send a formal message of opposition.
“The first message should be how absurd it is that the prosecutor pushed for an indictment, and the false equivalence — the reprehensible false equivalence — of equating Israel with Hamas,” said Rep. Brad Schneider, a Jewish Democrat from Illinois and staunch ally of Israel.
“Sanctions,” he added, “must be equal and have a real impact.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) introduced an ICC sanctions bill earlier this month after reports emerged that the court was eyeing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials. His proposal would impose sanctions on the ICC for engaging in an effort to arrest “any protected person of the United States and its allies.” It has more than 60 Republican Party co-sponsors.
McCaul said Roy’s bill would have to be tweaked to gain bipartisan support. Democrats, he noted, are demanding that the president be granted the authority to unilaterally waive certain sanctions – a provision that Roy is ready to accept, with some limitations.
“I do not support a broad, blanket presidential resignation,” Roy said.
He noted, however, that negotiators have “language that we are working on right now,” calling it a “variation.”
While lawmakers hash out the details behind the scenes, Republican leaders are vowing to take action against the ICC — and not mincing words in previewing those steps.
“This is a rogue agency,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said Wednesday. “I know this majority has taken many measures against this. We will continue to take action.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
